Brother Andrew Gonzales

And Brother Andrew Gonzales passed away last Sunday. Silent prayer for him, fellow LaSallians.

*P A U S E*

Carl passed a yahoo messenger message to me last night. I was indeed surprised by the news.

I know only few things about him. One: being an ex-president of De La Salle University from the time I started my degree in Computer Science until I received my diploma. I got to shook his hand on stage upon handing me my diploma. That's the only close encounter I got with him. And two: being an ex-DECS Secretary under the (embarrassing) government of ex-Philippine President Joseph Estrada.

I am not going to state anything bad from here on, out of respect for Brother Andrew.

I guess fellow LaSallian Max has (maybe) better thoughts and views about him.

This Is Saint Michael

I drew this for a friend's website some years ago. I like the way he flies high up behind the sun.

No it's not from Mulawin.

Heck, I should be switching to a career in graphics designing, drawing, or animation in Disney.

This Time, Pacquiao Wins

And to think Manny Pacquiao finished first his novelty cum patriotic battle cry song - "Para Sa 'Yo Ang Laban Na 'To" before he went off to US to train for his rematch battle with Erik Morales.

I join other fellow Filipinos in celebrating the victory of Manny Pacquiao over Erik Morales in the dramatic confrontation between the two yesterday.

Now the scores are even. 1 to 1. I'm sure there's a rematch to settle once and for all who the eventual champion is. But it seems the last fight will have to wait a long, long while. Morales seems to be in bad shape after receiving pound for pound punches from Manny.

More pics of the epic battle.

Time To Move On

So I resigned from my job. I am just counting my 30 days left (technically, 28 days left to go from today).

It's a bit unexpected to some, known only to a few, but eventually the time for me to move on has completed. It should have been last year, but many factors have influenced my decision to push the date later.

Frankly, I've never felt this so much freedom since the last time I decided to break out from my previous employer.

Now I'll be entering a new chapter in my life – I consider a bigger challenge.

Next stop: find a new life (and eventually a job to fend for myself) in another country. Planned destination: Singapore. Flight date: February.

With a handful of some of my friends, ex-officemates and acquaintances there, hopefully I could see an opportunity in that small nation. Call it a stepping stone. No job offer yet (am I serious about this?). Still be looking for one. I know, it's a very big risk. But in any risks involved, I've learned to devise with a plan B (and if badly needed, a plan C).

To any fellow bloggers and readers out there in Singapore, hope to see you there soon (let me sing: "With Arms Wide Open" by Creed).

Bombardment Of The Day

Wow. I've never thought I've experienced (almost) being bomb shelled by a bird turd (or bird dropping or bird shit if you want it vulgar). An hour and half ago, while briskly walking, I just heard that familiar "plok" sound and noticed the whitish poo half a feet away from my shoe. Hey, that rhymed.

Thank God, if I had slowed down for a mere second or two, my hair would have gone "gee your hair smells poo-rrefic".

Was Thinking At The Moment

At the end of my life, I hope to say that I did not let my life passed by without trying to change the things that can be changed.

This is an internal joke among us officemates, but seriously, this time, may God have MERCY on my soul.

(Was that serious, wow, is that me?)

Anyway, it's just a fleeting thought.

This Narnia Tale: Review

I was out, gathering my thoughts and at the same time taking another period of rest since last week (yeah, excuses, excuses…)

* * *

I have watched The Chronicles of Narnia. Below are my thoughts (spoilers ahead):

• Quick summary: The protagonists: a talking lion named Aslan and four children. The antagonist: a white witch named Jadis. The common battle of good versus evil. Four children, through a magical wardrobe, accidentally stumbled upon the world of Narnia. The kingdom is experiencing eternal winter, caused by the magic of the evil witch Jadis. The children where prophesized to be the saviors of Narnia, and along with the help of the talking lion Aslan, waged a climactic battle against the evil forces of Jadis.


• Besides the lion Aslan, expect other talking forest animals like the beavers (yes), wolves, fox, horses, and other Greek mythical creatures of such as centaurs, satyrs, and minotaurs. Add to that the griffins. And did I just see a phoenix somewhere during the battle?


• The film's storyline seems unoriginal. Unoriginal because most of us have seen fantasy movies with familiar plots and events (such as the battle in LOTR) and the common creatures found in films like (again) the Lord Of The Rings, and Harry Potter. Common creatures? The grotesque orc-like creatures (in LOTR) and the griffins (in Harry Potter).


• I was merely basing the similarities to recently made fantasy films. I can't blame other critics for stating that Narnia seems like LOTR junior, what with the familiar battle scene over the plains and mountainsides in both films (I found out that Narnia's C.S. Lewis is a close friend of LOTR's J.R.R. Tolkien and was a reader of Lewis' tale. It's possible both individuals shared ideas and inspirations for their own respective books).


• A trivia: in the credits, the WETA Workshop (which did a great job in LOTR) was responsible also for the creatures and other special effects of the film. Aaah, no wonder the Orc-like creatures of Jadis looks all too familiar.


• Talking animals? Others oddly find them annoying in the film. If these were depicted in the book as talking creatures then you better get used to them. What do you prefer they do instead to communicate? Mime?


• In the book, the main villain, the white witch Jadis is very beautiful. I think, whoever casted Tilda Swinton for the role made a good choice. She was truly despicable as the cold-hearted white witch but at the same time exuded that uncanny beauty (even if her only makeup seems like thin shiny glosses to represent icicles). Her expressionless close up moments could send shivers to any innocent child.


• I find the actors who played the Pevensies siblings did spectacularly well in the film, especially that lad who played Edmund (really into the role of a black sheep type of sibling - pensive and moody) and the lovable little girl Lucy (every time she smiles her crooked teeth, you could somehow feel her enjoyment in participating in this movie).


• I think those scenes where Aslan was slain and resurrected back to life were not too preachy about Catholic lessons at all (as most say this is similar to the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ and his eventual coming back from the dead). I feel those scenes did not overshadow whatsoever other important aspects of the story to make this film entirely a "subliminal" tool to propagate the beliefs of Catholics. I myself am a Catholic, but as much as possible I don't want to impose my own personal beliefs.
  
  Yeah, even if C.S. Lewis denies anything religious about the story, the mere fact that Aslan "sacrificed himself for the sake of a love one" makes his character similar to Christ.
  
  Anyway, isn't it this what makes love so special and above anything?

Overall, I rate this 4 out of 5 stars.

Bidding You For The New Year 2006

On the lighter side:

Meet Ganrio, the plush sumo doll. Don't mistake him for a Sanrio character... he defected from the group after he had serious allergies with the kitties. He bids you a prosperous new year 2006.

Sold himself to the highest bidder at Market!Market!. Formerly working as a strip club bouncer (er, himself looks like one of those flesh traders).

Baptizing him with a strong name, after my favorite character fighter, Ganryu, of the Tekken series.